Plenty are okay with still helping even if the people they help don't want in, and bless them, but these people seem to be the exception rather than the rule, especially when missionaries prize converts so highly.
See, maybe it's just because I'm extraordinarily picky about the churches I've been a part of throughout my life, but while I'm well aware organizations with these tactics exist, I've never in all my days even known a Christian who sponsors one of them - where the relief/food/money is withdrawn if the people aren't willing to accept the religion. In my experience, there are just as many genuine religious organizations out there with an eye to help, not to convert - people just don't hear about them as often. Unfortunately, this tends to be a global truth: the worst of people is what reverberates around the world, but the best of them is quiet, doing their work without a need to advertise it.
In a similar vein, just because Christianity in America is a pathetic, watered-down and twisted version of its original self (to put it lightly) doesn't mean that elsewhere in the world true Christianity isn't being played out in greater numbers than we realize. I'm sure that I sound wholly defensive on this matter, but I want to make it clear that I'm not ignorant of the failings of people when it comes to religion: I do, however, want to point out what a lot unfortunately don't get to see. True religion, after all, is defined by the Bible as caring for the poor. Full stop. And it's still alive and well today. Hasn't been killed off yet by all the abuse and misunderstanding, thank heaven. I know because this summer, several of my good friends are shelling out $4500 each to go to Zimbabwe, where they'll be eating the same food the people there are eating, living in the same kind of housing, etc. No special privileges. But a helluva lot of sacrifice and love, which is what those people need most of all. And that's what it's all about, right? :)
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Date: 2009-02-09 06:29 pm (UTC)See, maybe it's just because I'm extraordinarily picky about the churches I've been a part of throughout my life, but while I'm well aware organizations with these tactics exist, I've never in all my days even known a Christian who sponsors one of them - where the relief/food/money is withdrawn if the people aren't willing to accept the religion. In my experience, there are just as many genuine religious organizations out there with an eye to help, not to convert - people just don't hear about them as often. Unfortunately, this tends to be a global truth: the worst of people is what reverberates around the world, but the best of them is quiet, doing their work without a need to advertise it.
In a similar vein, just because Christianity in America is a pathetic, watered-down and twisted version of its original self (to put it lightly) doesn't mean that elsewhere in the world true Christianity isn't being played out in greater numbers than we realize. I'm sure that I sound wholly defensive on this matter, but I want to make it clear that I'm not ignorant of the failings of people when it comes to religion: I do, however, want to point out what a lot unfortunately don't get to see. True religion, after all, is defined by the Bible as caring for the poor. Full stop. And it's still alive and well today. Hasn't been killed off yet by all the abuse and misunderstanding, thank heaven. I know because this summer, several of my good friends are shelling out $4500 each to go to Zimbabwe, where they'll be eating the same food the people there are eating, living in the same kind of housing, etc. No special privileges. But a helluva lot of sacrifice and love, which is what those people need most of all. And that's what it's all about, right? :)